Voyage Logs 2005
Hawaii to Victoria :
Being there is everything!
Engine repairs were carried out in Hawaii under difficult circumstances. Waiting for parts prior to departure meant that the ship left 4 days late, of concern to all as we were due to reach Victoria for their Tallships Festival being held from 24th to 26th June.
Deckhand Nick East wrote:
We have at last reached the land of pucks, syrup, moose, and salmon.
We hung out in Hawaii for 7 days in the end and managed to sort out
all our wee problems so we could carry on 4 days behind schedule.
Of the just under 3,000 mile journey from Hawaii to Victoria the sea
was roughest in the first few days. Making sure that a good deal of
those on board weren't able to consider the option of smuggling
anything out of Hawaii in their stomachs.
It stayed warm for the first six or seven days. But then the
temperature control was set on 'plummet' and we were misfortunate
enough to find our selves amidst a deep deep fog that was so thick I
often caught myself throwing in the odd breaststroke kick when walking
around the deck. It lasted on and off (tending considerably more to
the on) for the rest of the voyage and had the dammed nerve to see
to-it that simply everything on the ship got, then stayed wet. Not
just on deck but down below too. The nerve ! the floors were wet, my
bed had a damp feel I hadn't felt since I was just a wee nipper
snapper, clothes would stay wet no matter where you hung/threw them,
the cook was damp, and sometimes ide even notice that when having a
drink the inside of my cup was wet.
On watch I was layered up with a whole assortment of thermals and
fleeces and woolly things and shirts and scarfs and beanies and gloves
and wet weather gear and boots and just about every kind of thing that
was in some way attachable to my body. I think I must have resembled
some kind of Himalayan Goatman that had lost its way.
Plus I'd still have to move around alot to get warm.
But none the less, many a beautiful time was enjoyed. Whether the fog
clearing for a time gifted us with the always enchanting sun ups and
downs of the sea.
Or starry nights that you don't have to share with lights that want to steal some of the brightness. We saw many a dolphin and porpoise, once at night in a phosphorescence so thick you could perfectly make out every detail of their bodies down six or seven metres deep. Numerous humpback Whales (I believe six or seven) appeared as we approached the Jaun de Fuca Straight below Vancouver Island. Plus the most extraordinary display of natures survival and prosper beliefs. Billions of Man-o-war jelly fishes. (Billions ? surely that's an exaggeration of six or seven times the real amount, you say. But work it out. 3 or 4 per square metre was conservative. For at least 170miles.... probably more but night is dark ya know. Assuming they were in some kind of circle rather than just the line we travelled.... billions of jello puds floating round the sea just lookin for trouble).
And then there was our fashionably late arrival here at Victoria to
join the fleet. We managed to make up time so we only arrived one day
after the other ships. Though the stories of all our troubles and
challenges along the way had become well known round here and we
seemed to be quite the fashionable bit of gossip. Especially since we are one of the smallest ships here and has sailed from further away than any other ship.
We sailed into the harbour as the sun set on a beautiful clear evening only 4 hours after the official parade of sail (people were still waiting for us) and had the pleasure to be welcomed by people lining the
shores along the way. Were like rockstars here. Everyone loves us and everyone loves our ship.
One of our liaison officers, Pauline, hails from Rotorua and had organised a surprise for us, a powhiri to welcome us to Victoria from across the sea. A wonderful honour and so good to see them.
But it's an amazing sight. Were surrounded by other classic tall ships.
Some have been used in movies like Pirates of the Caribbean, Master
and Command and such. Then there are ones that are just gigantic. We are
talking 300ft with crews of 150+.
Its proved to be far more of a success than they had anticipated with
the public. They were hoping to sell 300,000 tickets to checkout the
boats, over the three days. Instead they sold 300,000 the first day !
So its one big party round here.
I say Good Day.
Previous Leg: Tahiti to Hawaii leg, crossing the equator
Next Leg: Victoria to Tacoma
